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UK: Cessna pilot makes emergency landing after being hit by laser after takeoff

An instructor for the Cambridge Aero Club, flying a single-engine Cessna 172, made an emergency landing after being flashblinded by a laser beam after takeoff. The February 16 2016 incident occurred around 6:30 pm local time near St Neots, about 20 miles from the club’s base at Cambridge Airport.

The instructor was not injured. There was no information available whether there was anyone else in the aircraft at the time.

The incident is being classified as “endangering an aircraft," and police are investigating.

From the Daily Mail

UK: Teens aim laser at helicopter; disrupt river rescue

A Cambridgeshire police helicopter was targeted by a laser beam as it assisted firefighters rescuing a woman from a river. The pilot reported that the light “could have temporarily blinded him.”

Police located and spoke with three teens: a boy (15) and two girls (14 and 16). So far, no charges have been filed in the July 22 2011 incident. An investigation is ongoing.

From
Cambridge News. Click the “Rescue” tag in the left hand column to find similar stories of disrupted rescue operations in the UK and elsewhere.

UPDATE October 3 2011: The Cambridge News reports that the boy has been “reprimanded” and has been “dealt with by the police.” The reprimand was for a first offense. If there is a second offense, a final warning would be issued. On the third offense, the person would be charged and sent to court. From the Cambridge News.

UK: Two men fined £400 after hitting helicopter

Two young men were arrested September 1 in Cambridge for aiming a laser pen at a police helicopter. On September 14 they were found guilty of “directing or shining a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot”. They were fined £150 each, plus £85 in court costs and a £15 “victim surcharge”. The laser was destroyed as well.

22-year-old Shane Ramsay and 20-year-old Darryl Hodgkinson said they bought the green pointer for £20 and aimed it at the police helicopter “for a laugh”. Their attorney said the two men “had no idea what they did could potentially endanger the pilot’s eyesight.” A local police sergeant was quoted as saying “This his kind of stupidity is increasing in the aviation world. It is reckless and foolhardy and those who do so will be arrested and brought before the courts.”

From SWNS.com News Service